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Warner Huntington Park Theatre

 

View from the side of the balcony.

The Warner Theatre in Huntington Park, California opened on November 19, 1930. Warner Bros hired Seattle based architect B. Marcus Priteca and interior designer Anthony Hiensbergen to collaborate on three theaters in the Los Angeles area. The result of the collaboration were three theaters designed in the Art Deco style; the Warner Beverly Hills, the Warner Grand in San Pedro, and the Warner Huntington Park.

The ceiling of the auditorium.

The 1,468 seat Warner opened with a showing of “The Life of the Party” starring Winnie Lightner and Charles Butterworth. “The Life of the Party” was a musical comedy released on Vitaphone, which was an early form of talking motion pictures, and filmed entirely in Technicolor. Joe E. Brown, an actor and comedian, served as the master of ceremonies for the opening celebration.

The main level of the auditorium.

In 1948 Warner Bros was forced to split into two separate companies, Warner Bros Studios and the Stanley Warner Corporation, due to the results of the Supreme Court antitrust case, United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. Stanley Warner Corp (SWC) was created to operate all of Warner Bros theaters as the case ruled that movie studios could not own the theaters where their movies were shown. The Warner Huntington was renamed the Stanley Warner Huntington Park, but the signage on the building’s exterior never changed. SWC operated the theater until 1968, when it was sold to Pacific Theatres. Pacific twinned the Warner in the 1980s, separating the balcony and orchestra levels, and renamed it to Pacific’s Warner 2. The Warner closed in the early 1990’s after a stint as a spanish language theater.

The snack bar was not original to the theater.

Huntington Park declared the Warner a historic landmark in 2007. However, that status only protects the building’s facade from alteration. The theater sat dormant until Pacific sold it in June 2013 for $1,600,000 to Pacific Blvd. Pacific Blvd applied for a special re-use permit, which would allow them to convert the interior into retail space. Despite opposition from preservationists and residents, Huntington Park’s historic preservation commission unanimously approved the permit. The alteration work began soon after with the removal of the seats, stage, snack bar, and the wall separating the lobby from the auditorium. Blink Fitness, a primarily East Coast based Gym, opened one of their first West Coast locations in the Warner in early 2018.

The main floor was leveled and most of the balcony removed to help entice retail clients
View from the balcony before the division was removed.
The theater’s projection room.
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Fall Photo Workshops 2018

 

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Auditorium, Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA

I’ve been working on scheduling some new locations for this fall’s series of Photography Workshops, and think I’ve gotten some great ones. First up, the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA on September 22. The Orpheum was the first theater profiled on After the Final Curtain, and I’m really excited about the workshop. Attendees will be able to photograph the auditorium, ballroom and shooting range.

http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/orpheum-theatre-workshop

 

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The Art Theatre in Worcester, MA.

Next is the Art Theatre (formerly the Olympia and a bunch of other names) in Worcester, MA is the next photo workshop on October 6, 2018. It’s a smaller one, so sessions are limited to 6 people.

http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/arttheatreworkshop

(And don’t worry, all of that insulation has been removed.)

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View from the fake box seats at the Paramount Theatre in Springfield, MA.

Last up is a return to the Paramount Theatre in Springfield, MA on October 27, 2018. I’m co-hosting this one again with Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America. Work will have started on the roof by the time this workshop takes place, so hopefully that will stop the deterioration of this fantastic building.

Sign up and more information: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/paramount-theatre-workshop

That’s it for now! I’m planning on doing another one at the Everett Square Theatre this fall, but I’m just waiting to confirm a date. There may be one more surprise one as well.

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Robins Theatre Video

The Robins Theatre in Warren, Ohio is currently being restored and is scheduled to reopen in 2020. I’ve been documenting the progress and put together a short video tour. Look for an in depth post on the Robins soon!

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Upcoming Events

 

Auditorium, Bennett School – Millbrook, NY 2004.

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be at the 10th annual Millbrook Literary Festival in Millbrook, New York on May 19th, 2018. I’ll be signing copies of my books in the main tent from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. I grew up a few towns over from Millbrook, and might have snuck into the abandoned Bennett School a time or two.

Variety Theatre Cleveland, Ohio.

The next photography workshop is at one of my favorite theaters – the Variety Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio. I’m co-hosting it with Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America on June 16th. For more info visit: http://www.dismantlingthedream.com/product-page/variety-theatre-photography-workshop

View of the side of the balcony of the Colonial Theatre in Augusta, Maine.

Finally, I’ll be at the 14th annual Books in Boothbay in Boothbay, Maine on July 14. I’ll be signing copies of my books from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM.

 

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Arcade Theatre

The balcony of the Arcade Theatre in Los Angeles, California
View from the side of the balcony.

The Arcade Theatre in Los Angeles, California originally opened on September 26, 1910 as the Pantages Theatre. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by the Morgan & Walls architecture firm and was a part of the Pantages Vaudeville Circuit. Morgan & Walls are also known for designing the Mayan and El Capitan Theaters in Los Angeles. The location of the 1,400 seat theater helped to make downtown Los Angeles an entertainment destination, and 11 more theaters opened in the area between 1910 and 1931.

The Arcade was the first theater on the Pantages Vaudeville circuit in southern California.

Vaudeville singer and comedian Sophie Tucker appeared at the Arcade’s opening day celebration as part of her first West Coast tour. Other opening day acts included a one act pantomime called “A Hot Time in Dogville,” singer Maurice Burkhart, a musical comedy sketch by the Lelliott Brothers, and the Yalto Duo dancers. On Christmas Day 1913, an unusual wedding took place on the theater’s stage — Napoleon, a vaudeville-performing and silent film starring chimpanzee “married” Sally, another chimpanzee from the E&R Jungle Zoo. The theater closed in December of 1921 so that a photoplayer, an automatic mechanical orchestra to accompany silent films, could be installed.

Souvenir programs from the theater’s opening day were printed on silk.

Pantages sold the building in 1925 to the Dalton Brothers, who owned the nearby Folles Theater. It was renamed Dalton’s Theatre (or Dalton’s Broadway) until 1928 when the name was changed to the Arcade Theatre, after the Broadway Spring Arcade Building, which is located directly next to the theater. The Dalton Brothers renovated the Arcade in 1932, and reopened it as a burlesque house on July 30, 1932. Lou Costello (of Abbott and Costello) was one of the comedians who performed at the theater during this time.

All of the seats were removed after the theater closed in 1992.

In 1938, famed theater architect S. Charles Lee remodeled the interior of the theater, which reduced the seating to 800, changed the foyer to the Moderne style, and updated the building’s facade. On August 22, 1941 the Arcade became a Telenews Theatre, which ran newsreels from 8AM to 3AM the next day. The opening newsreel was called “This World Besieged,” and was about World War II. This change lasted only four months, and by mid-November 1941 the Arcade was back to showing feature films.

The mural in the center of the proscenium has long been painted over.

The Arcade was an independent theater in the 1960s and 1970s. In the early 1970s, keno was played at the theater every night at 8PM. Metropolitan Theatres ran the Arcade as a grindhouse (a theater that ran three or four different films on repeat) until it closed in 1992. The following year the lobby was converted into a retail space. It is currently an electronics store, and the stage is used as a storage space for the store’s inventory. There have been a few proposals to restore the theater, including one that would have it and two other theaters turned into a restaurant and multiplex complex, but none have come to pass.

Stan Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy) performed at the Arcade in 1919.
During the first burlesque show someone threw a stink bomb on stage and injured one of the dancers.

For more on the Arcade and many other Los Angeles Theatres be sure to visit: https://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/

 

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Strand and Capitol

Strand New Bedford
Strand Theatre, New Bedford, MA

Yesterday I attended a photography workshop at the Strand Theatre in New Bedford, Massachusetts hosted by Bryan Buckley of Vanishing New England. I love hosting workshops, but it was very nice to be on the other side of one this time. The Strand Theatre originally opened as the Vien Theatre in 1905, and is going to be turned into a community center in the near future.

Capitol Theatre, Fall River, MA.

While I was in the area I also visited the former Capitol Theatre in Fall River, MA. The Capitol originally opened on February 2, 1926. I believe it closed in the 1960s, but haven’t been able to verify that yet. Part of the orchestra level was converted into a bowling alley sometime after it closed.  The proscenium and organ chambers were removed so that a large steel support beam could be installed as part of the conversion.

I’ll be posting full write ups on both of these theaters very soon.

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Lights, Camera, Contest Winners

Everett Square Theatre, Boston, MA. Left side on site lighting. Right side LED lighting.

One of the questions I’m asked pretty often is “How do you light these theaters?” When I first started photographing theaters the answer was pretty simple. I didn’t. I relied on whatever was already in the building. I’d use construction lights, open fire escape doors, or in some rare cases use the original theater lights.

Victory Theatre Holyoke, MA Left side on site lighting. Right side LED lighting.

A few years ago I picked up some small LED lights from Amazon. They worked pretty well, but had a battery life of around 45 minutes, which wasn’t ideal. Earlier this year I noticed that they were taking longer to charge and not lasting as long. I began to search for replacements. If you’ve ever looked at how many LED lights there are on Amazon and B&H you’d know that finding a good one is a pretty daunting task. After weeding through the duds I bought two Yongnuo YN300 III LED lights, and they’re pretty fantastic. I’m able to light an entire auditorium with the two lights running at 50%, and the batteries last for around two hours. I’ve only tested them at the Everett Square Theatre and the Victory Theatre, but I think they’re a welcome addition to my camera bag.

After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater.

Congratulations to Monika Seitz Vega and @NKenny ! You both won a copy of my first book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater . Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. I’ll be doing another giveaway soon.

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After the Final Curtain 7 Year Anniversary Giveaway

Cover for After the Final Curtain; the Fall of the American Movie Theater.

I had been photographing forgotten theaters for a few years before I launched this site, but we just passed the 7 year anniversary of my first post. So to celebrate I’m giving away two signed copies of my first book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater. 

To enter just follow my twitter account: https://twitter.com/MattLambros and retweet any image I tweet during the next week.

If you don’t have a twitter account, just comment on this post to enter. Good Luck!